A lifelong friend of the famous comedian, Kyle McDonough starred on the ice at Vermont and served as motivation for the fictional golfer.

“Happy Gilmore,” released in 1996, was Sander and Herlihy’s second movie, following “Billy Madison.” Sandler was just exiting “Saturday Night Live.” Herlihy was Sandler’s roommate at New York University and became a lawyer before Sandler got him to stick to writing comedy. (You might remember the “Herlihy Boy” sketch .)